The Twelve Stones (28 page)

“Excuse me, just what the hell exactly do you think you’re…” she trailed off as she got closer to the three men in form fitting black jumpsuits. Whoever these men were, they were not just coming back from the bars.

“Who are you?” A bald man coming from nowhere surprised her by getting out of the passenger side of the Suburban. Whereas the three other men in their form
-
fitting jumpsuits and masks had been strange, this man, even without a mask covering his identity
,
scared
Sienna. His pale blue eyes bore a hole directly into Sienna’s soul, and suddenly, she felt incredibly cold.

Losing her nerve, she started nervously, “I’m Sienna Hutton, and I manage…I manage this complex…”

The man said nothing, just staring at her with his pale watery blue eyes. She cleared her throat and raised her head back up. Her brother used to use the quiet intimidation tactic on her; she wouldn’t let him get away with it.

Finding her voice and confidence, she started again. “I’m Sienna Hutton. I manage this complex, and you gentlemen have destroyed my gate.” She stuck her chin out defiantly
.
“I hope you’re ready to pay for it
.
I’ve already called the police
,
and they are on their way.”

The bald man shook his head, chuckling.

“No you haven’t.” Geoffrey replied to the robed young woman in front of him
.
“We’ve had the entire area jammed for the past…” Geoffrey paused as one of the masked men held up a complicated
-
looking electronic
device
with a timer running on the front
.
“
…
four minutes
,
seventeen seconds.”

Sienna’s courage, which had been quickly retreating
each second she faced
the men in front of her, now found itself in freefall.

“
There’s no way anyone could have made a call in or out of this complex
,
or within
300
feet
,
for that matter.”

Geoffrey watched the woman for her reaction, examining her closely. Sienna felt as though she was under a microscope in a lab, certain those pale blue watery eyes were somehow looking directly through her robe and pajamas.

“
What is it you said you do here?” Geoffrey asked quietly.

“
I…” Sienna decided right then
that
she would no longer stammer or cry in front of these men
,
no matter what happened
.
“I manage the complex.”

“
Which means what
,
exactly?” Geoffrey asked, those eyes staring directly into Sienna’s.

“
I collect the rent, find tenants, do general day-to-day upkeep.” In her head, Sienna began to make a list of the things she would do if she got out of this alive. “I’m just here to keep the place running shipshape
,
you know?”
s
he
finished
,
laughing nervously.

Geoffrey didn’t respond,
but kept
his head cocked, looking at her as if she were some new inscrutable insect he had found in the wilds of the rainforest.

“
If you manage this place
,
then I assume you know the tenants fairly well?”

“
Who are you?” Sienna deflected the man’s question, hoping to knock him off balance. “You don’t look like cops.”

Geoffrey smiled, “I’m hardly a cop
,
my dear. But I promise if you
tell me something trivial
, you’re going to be just fine.” Geoffrey placed his hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her. Instead
,
it had the opposite effect. His hand was cold, white like a fish’s belly
,
and sent shivers down her spine.

“
Who are you looking for?” Sienna had already decided that her life was worth much more than anyone else
’s
she knew. “I’d be more than happy to look up anything you need.”

Geoffrey smiled gently at her
.
“Atta girl, now that’s what I like to hear.” He pointed towards Scott’s apartment
.
“I’m looking for a Scott Ermy. What can you tell me about him? Who are his friends? When was he last here?” His questions were rapid fire, too quick for her to follow at first.

“
Scott?” Sienna snorted derisively
.
“There’s not much to tell.”

She didn’t know how he moved that quickly, but somehow, Geoffrey crossed the space between them
, bringing
his face inches away from Sienna’s. Her eyes grew wide. He put his mouth against Sienna’s ear as a knife appeared at her throat.

“Miss, I’d like to suggest something to you
.
” Geoffrey’s voice was low, a whisper in the cold night air. Sienna’s mind went blank in fear, the sharp point of the knife nicking her throat slightly as a tiny trail of blood began to run down her neck.

“You can tell me all you can about Scott Ermy right now, or with a simple twist
…
” Geoffrey’s other hand grabbed the soft flesh in between her neck and throat
,
pinching a nerve
.
A
s he did so, bright lights exploded in her eyes, and tortuous bolts of pain ran up and down her spine. The feeling was intense, more than anything else she had experienced so far in h
er short 25-year life.

Geoffrey smiled as he watched her eyes roll back into her head
. It was so satisfying when his extensive knowledge of human anatomy gave him the desired effect
.

“
OK!”
s
he screamed. Geoffrey relaxed his grip
,
and Sienna fell to the ground
,
heaving and gagging as her nervous system attempted to put itself back together.

As Sienna sobbed violently, Geoffrey bent down on one knee and began to rub her back.

“
There
,
there,” he said in a soothing voice. “I’m not proud of what I’m capable of. Honestly, I hate that I have to use it at all, but now
,
since we know what I can do to you, I won’t have to use it again
…
right? It’s sad
,
really…” Geoffrey sighed
.
“
…i
t’s
been a talent of mine for all my life. I mean, you can imagine the horror on my parents
’
faces when I told them I torture people for a living
?
”
Geoffrey chuckled slightly at the thought of th
at
.
“It ain’t easy telling Mom and Dad that you want to switch your major to Invasive Interrogation Techniques.”

She raised her head
,
looking up at her tormenter. “You’re completely nuts
,
”
she gasped, her breathing returning to normal.

Geoffrey only smirked at her and nodded, acknowledging her statement as if she had instead just made a clever comment about the weather.

“
Well
,
Miss Hutton, it’s a living,” He stood up putting his knife away and took out his pistol, sliding a new magazine into the grip of his gun. “Now then, you were saying
?
A
bout
Scott Ermy?” His voice hung in the air, a professor anticipating a brilliant answer from his star pupil.

Sienna’s eyes reached skyward as her brain frantically searched for any detail she could possibly remember about the short and muscled resident of Apartment 212. “He’s a single guy, orders the occasional pizza, works long hours over at JPL...” She trailed off, uncertain of what else to tell the dangerous
-
looking man.

Geoffrey nodded; they were getting somewhere
.
T
he
stick had done its job
.
I
t
was time for the carrot. “What about friends?”
h
e asked
,
his voice velvety smooth.

“
He doesn’t have too many that I see,” Sienna said, hoping for a light at the end of this terrifying tunnel. “He hosts a monthly game night that I always have to break up. Beyond that, he’s fairly quiet.”

Geoffrey sighed
.
T
his
woman was useless. He took out a silencer from his inside pocket and screwed it onto the end of the barrel of his gun.

Sienna felt the despair grow. She cried in protest, “You said you’d let me live!”

“
I did
,
at that, didn’t I?” Geoffrey nodded
.
“But the thing is, you weren’t really much help. I think I can find anything else I might need in his house.
”

Sienna prayed that somewhere God was about to intervene and give her some hope that she might survive this. Her eyes darted about, looking for any escape. Unfortunately, Scott’s apartment was located in a trio of cul
-
de
-
sac apartments, far from any of the other tenants.

“Wait! I didn’t tell you everything!”
s
he
screamed as the man put the gun against her head. There was so much she hadn’t done yet, so many things.

“
Do you really think that some precious piece of information will keep me from killing you now? I’m not even here right now,” Geoffrey said patiently
.
“There will be no finding your body, no investigation into your death. This is the kind of person I am
,
Miss Hutton. This is what I am capable of.”

“
He works at JPL
.
H
e’s
always spending weird hours at that lab. I’d bet my life that he’s there right now.” She was crying.

“Are you certain?!” Geoffrey roared, grabbing her face with his hands, “You would bet your life?
Because that’s precisely
what you’re doing right now
,
Miss Hutton
;
you are gambling with your life. If
we
go to JPL,
and
he’s not there, you are a dead woman. Do you understand that? It will not matter where, or how far you run. I WILL find you.”

T
hrough her tears, hoping against hope that this wasn’t the end
,
s
he held
up
an unsteady hand, pointing at a red Mustang
.
“That’s his car, right there
.
T
hat’s
his,
”
she said, her voice small.

“
Well
,
he’s not here
,
Miss Hutton!” Geoffrey shouted at her. “You try my patience. Where did he go? How did he leave?”

“
I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know!!” she sobbed, “Please don’t kill me
.
I’m supposed to grow up and get married and have babies, and watch them have babies
.
P
lease, give me that chance.”
s
he
begged through the tears.

Geoffrey rolled his eyes
. I
t
was a lead worth following up on. He turned and began walking back towards his truck. If Alex had come to his friend for help, the first thing they would want to do is find someplace that was safe. The apartment manager’s story about Scott’s odd hours at the lab was something
,
and if they found Scott there without Alex, they might have some leverage against the young man from the desert.

Geoffrey nodded at his team
,
indicating silently th
at th
ey were ready to go. As they began to pack up, Geoffrey glanced at the terrified young woman hiding her face from
him.
He sighed, put away his pistol
, and snapped his fingers
.
One of his
men disappeared.

For a moment, Sienna felt safe, right up until one of the masked men reappeared
,
handing Geoffrey a small black metal case. He nodded to the man, who walked back over to Sienna
.
She
screamed, certain the final deadly blow was forthcoming.

Geoffrey flipped the small case over on top of the Suburban
’s
hood. Metal clanged against metal
.
H
is
body
block
ed
Sienna’s view of what he was doing. Not knowing what was about to happen to her was the greatest torture she had ever faced.